The present invention relates to rod belt conveyors, and in particular to a belt splice for connecting the ends of a flexible belt having a plurality of parallel rods attached thereon.
A rod belt harvester conveyor is used to convey and transport and often to size food products such as tomatoes, onions, potatoes and various other vegetables. The spacing between the parallel rods defines an opening which may be used for sizing to allow objects of a lesser size to pass through the rods while the larger products remain on top of the conveying rods.
A typical rod belt conveyor of the type used in agricultural machines, such as harvesters, or the like includes a plurality of tranversely extending rods secured to side bands or belts. Typically the ends of the rods are flattened and secured to the belts by suitable securing means.
The belts are made of a flexible material such as heavy gauge fabric, reinforced rubber or neoprene. The belts form an endless loop and are driven by a suitable conveyor drive, such as gear wheels or drums which engage the belt between the rods or cutout teeth formed on the underside of the belts.
The ends of the belts are connected to form endless loops by suitable fasteners such as the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,815,587 and 4,625,369 to Musil. It has been found that the prior art fasteners such as these create a weak point on the endless belt due to the stress placed on the connection to the belt, and the weakening of the cross-section of the belt due to the number of holes being placed in the belt for insertion of fasteners. Therefore the belts are susceptible to breakage. This breakage normally occurs when the machine is in use in the field, and this in turn requires the field worker or machine operator to have an inventory of parts and various special tools, some requiring an electrical power source in order to make the necessary repairs. It will be appreciated that these repairs are sometimes costly and time consuming, particularly where harvesting of a crop within time limits is critical.